Psychological Therapeutic Solutions Ltd

13/06/2026

🌟🚀Our next social group in Skipton is Saturday 20th June 12-2pm!

This is a safe, supportive space where you can:

✨ Connect with others who share similar experiences
✨ Enjoy relaxed, pressure-free conversations
✨ Build friendships at your own pace
✨ Take part in fun activities that reflect your interests

Whether you’re looking to meet new people, share experiences, or simply spend time with others who “get it” — this group is for you.

Book your ticket at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/social-group-for-autistic-adults-tickets-1719233175709?aff=oddtdtcreator

Ticket sales close Wednesday 17th June at 10am!

10/06/2026

This is exactly why I’m writing a book.

For so many women, the story starts long before a diagnosis.

Years of being told you’re anxious.
Years of being treated for depression.
Years of feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, emotional, forgetful, disorganised or “too much”.

Many of us become experts at masking. We keep going. We work harder. We push through. From the outside everything can look fine whilst internally we’re running on empty.

When ADHD, autism, trauma, PMDD, perimenopause or menopause enter the picture, it can become even harder to understand what is happening. Symptoms overlap. Hormones change. Coping strategies stop working. The self-criticism gets louder.

One of the reasons I am writing When Everything Feels Different is because I want women to know they are not alone in this experience.

Understanding your brain, your nervous system, your hormones and your life experiences can be incredibly powerful. Not because it changes who you are, but because it can help make sense of years of confusion, shame and self-blame.

I’m looking forward to listening to this conversation with Gemma Styles.

How many women here received treatment for anxiety or depression long before anyone considered neurodivergence, hormones, trauma or all three?

🟢 New episode alert!

Writer, podcast host and mental health advocate Gemma Styles () joins Ben () for a deeply honest conversation about ADHD, anxiety, depression and the emotional weight of going through life feeling constantly overwhelmed without understanding why.

Gemma reflects on being treated for mental health struggles long before anyone recognised ADHD, and how her diagnosis reframed years of self-blame, exhaustion and internal chaos. She speaks openly about the experience of internalised hyperactivity - where the mind never fully slows down, even when everything looks calm externally - and the pressure of trying to hold things together while quietly struggling underneath.

Together, they explore rejection sensitivity dysphoria, social anxiety, motherhood, burnout and the emotional toll of living in a world that often rewards productivity while misunderstanding overwhelm. They also unpack the growing public conversation around ADHD in women - including the tension between increased visibility and the backlash that can come with it.

This episode is about the reality underneath the headlines, labels and stereotypes - the lived experience of trying to navigate a world that often misunderstands overwhelm, emotional intensity and difference. And why finally understanding your brain can change the way you understand your entire life.

Available now wherever you get your podcasts 📲

09/06/2026

People of Lincoln. These sessions look fabulous and if you want to connect with others in a caring and compassionate setting then get in touch with Mindfulness Skills4Life.

06/06/2026

I really like this perspective.

In my work as a psychologist, I often see couples who are both exhausted, hurt and desperate to be heard. One person feels criticised and never good enough. The other feels unheard and alone. The more frightened, frustrated or defensive they become, the more entrenched the pattern gets.

What often gets missed is that underneath the arguments are two nervous systems trying to feel safe.

When we are overwhelmed, we can become reactive, controlling, avoidant, angry, critical or withdrawn. Not because we are bad people, but because our brains are trying to protect us.

The challenge is recognising when the real enemy is not each other but the cycle you have become trapped in.

That does not mean accepting harmful behaviour or avoiding accountability. It means learning to pause long enough to ask:

“What is happening between us right now?”

Rather than:

“Which one of us is to blame?”

The strongest relationships are not the ones without conflict. They are the ones where both people are willing to look at themselves, take responsibility for their part and work together against the pattern.

Sometimes that is easier said than done. 💙

06/06/2026

🔥 Does this belong on the front cover of my book? 🔥

When drjostudio first sent me this illustration, I stopped scrolling and just stared at it.

Not because it is dramatic, but because for so many women it captures exactly what PMDD, perimenopause and menopause can feel like.

The rage.

The anxiety.

The overwhelm.

The exhaustion.

The hopelessness.

The shame.

The mood swings.

The moments where you genuinely wonder if you are losing yourself.

As a Clinical Psychologist, EMDR Consultant and someone with lived experience of perimenopause, I know how many women sit in my therapy room believing they are failing, broken or simply not coping.

Often what they are experiencing is a nervous system under enormous pressure whilst hormones, stress, trauma history, neurodivergence and life demands collide.

This powerful illustration by the incredibly talented Dr Jo McColl captures something that words often struggle to explain. It helps women feel seen.

The current title says PMDD, but that can easily be changed. What I’m really asking is whether this image captures something important about the lived experience of perimenopause and menopause and deserves a place on the front cover of my upcoming book.

So I’d love your help.

❤️ LOVE if you think this should be the book cover.

👍 LIKE if you think it is a fantastic illustration that belongs somewhere in the book, but not on the cover.

🥰 CARE if you think it should remain specifically within the PMDD chapter.

I genuinely want your honest opinion before we make a final decision.

A huge thank you to Jo for creating illustrations that so powerfully capture experiences that are often difficult to put into words.

What do you think? 💙

04/06/2026

EMDR therapy is making headlines.

In a recent essay for The Wall Street Journal, journalist Michael Waldholz reflects on his experience with EMDR therapy and the role it played in helping him process longstanding trauma and navigate a difficult chapter in his life.

As awareness of trauma and mental health continues to grow, so does interest in evidence-based approaches to healing.

Read the article and explore more stories featuring EMDR in the news at EMDRIA.org/blog.

03/06/2026

I’ve written a two part article for lifestyle magazine and I’m delighted to see part 1 included.

That said, it did make me reflect on how often women’s midlife experiences remain hidden. Perimenopause and menopause affect so much more than hot flushes. They can impact our mental health, nervous system, relationships, confidence, identity, memory, concentration and sense of self. Yet many women still struggle in silence because of shame, stigma or fear of being dismissed.

As a Clinical Psychologist and EMDR Consultant, I hear these stories every week. Women who tell me they no longer recognise themselves. Women who wonder if they are failing, when in reality their nervous system is trying to cope with enormous hormonal, psychological and life changes.

This is exactly why these conversations matter.

The more we talk openly about perimenopause and menopause, the more we help women understand that they are not alone, they are not imagining it, and they are certainly not failing.

Being hidden has always been part of the problem. Visibility, understanding and compassion are part of the solution.

I hope many women will be able to relate to the article and feel seen in its pages. 💙

Say hello to the June / July 26 issue of Lifestyle Magazine
Available in print and online 🍾🎉

www.lifestylemoray.scot

03/06/2026

This illustration by Dr Jo McColl captures something I hear from women all the time during perimenopause.

“I’ve disappeared.”

“I don’t feel like myself anymore.”

“Everything feels like too much effort.”

Not everyone experiences perimenopause as hot flushes and night sweats.

For some women it feels like emotional shutdown.

A loss of motivation.

A loss of joy.

A loss of connection to themselves and the things they once loved.

As an EMDR Consultant and Clinical Psychologist, I often hear women describe feeling frightened by this change. They worry they are lazy, failing, depressed or simply not coping.

Yet from a nervous system perspective, shutdown is often a protective response to prolonged overwhelm.

Hormonal changes, stress, trauma, neurodivergence, masking, caregiving responsibilities, poor sleep and the relentless demands of life can all narrow our window of tolerance until the nervous system simply says:

“I can’t keep running at this pace.”

One of the chapters in my forthcoming book, When Everything Feels Different: Understanding Perimenopause, Menopause, Neurodivergence and the Nervous System, explores this experience in depth because so many women tell me nobody warned them that perimenopause could feel like this.

You have not disappeared.

Your nervous system may simply be asking for something different than it needed before.

A huge thank you to Dr Jo McColl for bringing these experiences to life so beautifully through her illustrations. Sometimes an image captures what pages of text struggle to explain. 💙

If you’d like to join the waiting list for the book, you can do so here:

https://www.ptsolutionsltd.com/emdr-menopause-workbook/

Low mood, shut down and emotional numbness are very real experiences for clients and particularly during perimenopause and beyond. There is a whole chapter dedicated to this very subject in Deborah Kingston’s forthcoming book which hugely validates this for women who often feel like they are losing themselves. This illustration helps to show just how difficult this can feel.

Sometimes everything just feels way too much and we shut down as a protective response. It is very important to recognise that this is not us failing but is actually a nervous system response to total overwhelm and is often influenced by hormones and stress too. 🧠💕

If you’d be interested in finding out more about navigating the challenges of perimenopause and our nervous system, feel free to join the waiting list for Deborah’s book:

https://www.ptsolutionsltd.com/emdr-menopause-workbook/

(Huge thank you too to my peri/menopausal psychology colleagues who have very kindly sent me some amazingly real and vulnerable photos to base my illustrations on, this is exactly what shut down looks like. Thank you to Boo bp_x who this illustration is based on ❤️)

01/06/2026

Today I spent part of my train journey watching two professional men play backgammon.

Not on their phones.
Not working.
Not rushing.

Just playing.

They laughed, shared stories, enjoyed some healthy competition and seemed genuinely interested in both the game and each other.

As I watched, I realised how relaxing it was. My attention drifted away from work and onto something much simpler: two people being fully present.

We often talk about mindfulness as something we need to practise, but sometimes it finds us when we least expect it.

Watching those two gentlemen reminded me that play doesn’t stop being important when we become adults.

Sometimes the nervous system needs less pressure and more connection.

And perhaps a game of backgammon.